The present invention relates generally to a measurement device for easily determining the bend point of a pipe or rod. As is well known, the bend point is the location on a pipe where the bend point indicator of a traditional pipe bending tool should be placed in order to properly bend a pipe.
Traditionally, measurement devices, such as tape measures, included one or two measurement scales, such as imperial and metric scales, each beginning at zero and progressing uniformly upward over the length of the devices. A person using a traditional measurement device to measure a pipe and determine where the pipe should be bent to achieve the appropriate pipe length would need to subtract a particular distance from the actual measured length of the straight pipe in order to determine the correct bend point for the pipe. The distance subtracted is a function of the diameter of the pipe. Making the calculation to determine the proper bend point is tedious, time consuming and prone to human error. It requires the operator to remember the appropriate distance to be subtracted for the appropriate pipe being measured and then to perform an error free calculation. It is desirable that there be a tool which can simply inform the operator what the proper bend point is for a desired length of pipe without the need to perform any calculations.
As described in detail below, the present invention provides a unique solution to the aforementioned problems.